LOUISVILLE -- A high-end apartment and retail complex that would replace a long-shuttered Safeway store on South Boulder Road took a major stumble Thursday night when a majority of members on the Planning Commission voted against the project.

Boulder-based developer Jim Loftus will now have to decide whether to take his proposal, which consists of three apartment buildings and 10,000 square feet of retail space, to the City Council without the blessing of the Planning Commission.

After the 5-1 vote, Loftus said he would take a couple of days to figure out whether to proceed with his project.

Thursday's rejection came despite a last-minute willingness by Loftus to reduce the number of residential units from 195 to 180 and to drop the maximum height of the tallest building from 54 to 48 feet by removing a fourth story from much of the development.

The proposal, which would be the city's first major redevelopment project outside of the downtown area, prompted a zealous reaction from residents who said the project would be too dense, would cause too many traffic headaches and would be incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood. They showed up en masse at City Hall over three Planning Commission meetings, even filling up the lobby outside the council chambers.

Many of their observations were echoed by the commissioners who voted against the project Thursday.

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"I am concerned with the scale and the density that is being proposed," Chairman Jeff Lipton said. "This thing is too much in your face, it's very dense and it changes the character of the surrounding neighborhoods."

Most of the commissioners agreed that the site at South Boulder Road and Centennial Drive is no longer a viable retail location -- the Safeway closed in May 2010 -- but they didn't feel that what Loftus is bringing to the table is the answer.

Commissioner Scott Russell said the proposal needed too many variances on height and mass and would amount to a de facto rezoning of the 5-acre parcel.

"I want something to happen here, but I don't think I want this to happen here," he said.

One commissioner, Chris Pritchard, voted against rejecting Loftus' project. He said Louisville could use luxury apartments and that it would introduce a good diversity of housing stock for the city.

Several residents took to the podium to support the project Thursday, saying it would provide much-needed senior housing for empty-nesters ready to move from single-family homes to studio apartments.

Walt Oehlkers, who has lived in Louisville for more than 20 years, said Loftus' project was well conceived and responded to a housing need in the city.

"There are a lot of seniors who want to downsize and they don't have many options," he said.

Loftus has said he cannot reduce the number of apartment units in the plan any more than he has without making the project financially unfeasible. And backers of the project contend that arguments about traffic problems are misplaced, given that a traffic study showed that Loftus' project would generate 60 percent less traffic than a fully operational Safeway would.

But most residents Thursday remained unconvinced of the project's merits. Cheryl Bentley, who lives north of the vacant Safeway, said Loftus made some worthy compromises, but she still couldn't get behind his vision.

"I like the changes you've made to scale it down, but it's not enough," she said.

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